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Love's Philosophy Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com Love’s Philosophy prospective lover by pointing out the way that nature in general POEM TEXT seems to follow a "divine law" that dictates universal mingling and connectedness. Put more concretely: the speaker uses the 1 The fountains mingle with the river tendency of nature to come together—rivers flowing into the ocean, the mixing of the winds in the sky—to argue that physical 2 And the rivers with the ocean, intimacy between people is simply following the laws of nature. 3 The winds of heaven mix for ever As such, the speaker and the addressee should form their own 4 With a sweet emotion; physical union (that is, have sex, or at least kiss). 5 Nothing in the world is single; The poem uses a deliberate logical structure to make its 6 All things by a law divine argument. Each stanza points out evidence from the natural 7 In one spirit meet and mingle. world of two beautiful natural elements coming together. 8 Why not I with thine?— These examples are designed to make the coming together of the speaker and their lover therefore seem like the only logical 9 See the mountains kiss high heaven thing to do as well as beautiful and natural. In the first stanza, 10 And the waves clasp one another; for instance, the speaker points out the way that fountains 11 No sister-flower would be forgiven become rivers, which in turn join up with oceans. These 12 If it disdained its brother; different bodies of water “mingle,” meaning they all mix 13 And the sunlight clasps the earth together. This is the first xamplee of the key idea of the poem’s philosophy of love: “nothing in the world is single.” And, 14 And the moonbeams kiss the sea: accordingly, the speaker asks: why shouldn't they and their 15 What is all this sweet work worth prospective lover similarly mingle? 16 If thou kiss not me? The poem is littered with other examples of this intermingling between natural elements. In line 9, mountains “kiss” (a suggestive word choice!) the sky; in line 10, waves “clasp” onto SUMMARY one another. The speaker uses flowers as another xamplee in lines 11 and 12, specifically looking at the way flowers pollinate Water from fountains run into rivers, which in turn join (literally, a form of reproduction!). The speaker then further together in the oceans. Likewise, the winds of heaven are asserts that the above examples illustrate not just the way always and forever mixing with each other and with deep and things are in nature but that nature is just one part of a world beautiful feelings. Nothing in the world is a single governed by a “law divine” that decrees that everything in the entity—everything is connected according to a divine law which natural, spiritual and emotional worlds must "meet and mingle." dictates that all things connect through their spirit. And if that In other words, the speaker suggests that togetherness is a is the case, why shouldn’t I mingle and connect with you? kind of godliness—not just a natural law but divine one too. The Look at the way that mountains kiss the heavens, and how the speaker uses language that in ways both subtle and not waves embrace one another. A female flower that ignored the supports this idea: referring not to the "sky" but always to the love of its male equivalent would never be forgiven. Sunlight "heavens," while the sunlight and moonlight described as embraces the earth, and moonlight kisses the sea. But what "clasping" and "kissing" the earth and sea can be seen as does it all mean—what is all this connection worth—if you will representing the union between things of nature and things of not kiss me? heaven (the light of the sun and moon). So, asks the speaker, given that this coming together is not just the way the world works but the way in which it expresses its THEMES divinity, how could the two of them (the speaker and the addressee) not follow suit? The speaker even presents the NATURE, CONNECTEDNESS, LOVE, AND above as a kind of duty. If the world is full of divine togetherness, it does the world a disservice not to join in their SEX own natural and divine union: “What is all this sweet “Love’s Philosophy” is a playful seduction poem in work”—that is, the beautiful unity of the world—"worth / If thou which the speaker (who has traditionally been thought of as a kiss not me?” man but who's gender is in fact unspecified) tries to woo their ©2020 LitCharts LLC v.007 www.LitCharts.com Page 1 Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com Shelley’s poem fits into a long line of seduction poems in which LINES 3-4 the speaker follows a conceit, playfully presenting evidence of The winds of heaven mix for ever their argument in an attempt to make getting together the only With a sweet emotion; logical response. Meanwhile, to what degree the speaker actually believes the argument being made — to what extent Lines 3 and 4 further develop the conceit of the speaker wants actually believes in a divine law decreeing interconnectedness introduced by lines 1 and 2. In fact, sex as a beautiful natural act or, rather, just wants to seduce an through careful word choice and the use of personification, the object of desire — is never made entirely clear. speaker actually extends that conceit. In the first two lines, it pertains just to water, a natural thing. In lines 3 and 4, it is still a natural thing—wind—that is mixing together. But the speaker Where this theme appears in the poem: does not just say "winds," or "winds of the sky." Rather the • Lines 1-16 speaker describes them as "the winds of heaven." And, in addition, the speaker personifies the winds yb saying that they mix "with a sweet emotion." In this way, the speaker extends the LINE-BY-LINE ANALYSIS realms subject to this ever present mixing beyond just nature to include both the spiritual ("heaven") and "emotion." The use LINES 1-2 of "for ever" also suggests that what is being discussed is a kind of eternal law of the universe. The fountains mingle with the river And the rivers with the ocean, As of these two lines, the speaker has still not revealed why this "mingling" and "mixing" in nature are meaningful or important. "Love's Philosophy" jumps right in by establishing its main But the poem is continuing to set the foundation for that conceit, which is essentially that nature is full of examples of eventual reveal in a variety of ways. First, as with line 1, line 3 is togetherness and union. Lines 1 and 2 present the first xamplee enjambed, which results in lines 3 and four being "mixed" or of this conceit, discussing the way that the flow of water pushed together to form a pair. Second, the words "winds," represents both separate elements and an ultimate "mix," and "sweet," give these lines a hint of sibilance. The togetherness. That is, while "fountains," "river[s]," and sibilance is suggestive of the whooshing sounds of the mixing "ocean[s]" are separate bodies of water, they all "mingle" and winds, but it also connects to the much more prevalent become one. sibilance in the second stanza, and, in particular, connects to The poem's use of the example of water flowing together is the the strongest sibilant, and sexually suggestive, words in that first step in an effort to argue that all things in nature and the second stanza: "kiss" and "clasp." So while the speaker has not world are connected. This argument is also reflected and made clear where the poem is going, hints abound. supported in the structure of these (and other) lines in the poem. Line 1 is enjambed, connecting it smoothly to line 2. Like LINES 5-8 the water, these two lines are both separate entities and, at the Nothing in the world is single; same time, connected. They are a pair. Meanwhile, the All things by a law divine anadiplosis in these two lines—through the use of "river" at the In one spirit meet and mingle. end of line 1 and the beginning of line 2—underscores this Why not I with thine? sense of flow and togetherness. In the second half of the first stanza, the poem makes its Though the speaker hasn't yet explained why these points intentions clear, clarifying what "Love's Philosophy" actually is. about the connectedness of things are important, these two Having listed examples of the way that nature, the "heavens," lines are laying the metaphorical groundwork for the speaker's and "emotions" tend toward connection and mingling, the coming argument that it is a divine law reflected in nature for speaker now reveals that ideas behind those observations. all things to be connected, including for human beings to be In making clear the primary theme of the poem, the speaker physically and emotionally intimate with one another. The uses the techniques of building a logical argument. First, the assonant /I/ sounds in this line also help to build this sense of speaker takes the observations made in the first four lines, and unity and togetherness: derives from them a conclusion: The fountains mingle with the river Nothing in the world is single. And the rivers with the ocean, That is, all things are connected.
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